Following its debut album Reflections in 2020, Evolution Quartet has since launched its second album Pandemic Blues on Spotify and Apple Music, an aural diary of the stories, reflections and lived reality experienced battling COVID-19.
Consisting of 9 songs, this album is a collection of diverse musical styles ranging from bossanova and modern cha-cha to pentatonic scale and blues. Celebrated jazz heavyweights such as trumpeter Alex Sipiagin and tenor saxophonist Shawn Letts from the United States have also been invited as collaborators in Evolution Quartet’s second album.
“Creating a second album during the pandemic is no easy feat but our passion for jazz brought us together, enabling us to play every Thursday at my residence. This album is essentially a whole year’s work - all that jamming amidst adversity gave us the inspiration to indulge in full-on composition and I wrote profusely. It is intense, brimming with flavour and is truly a reflection of the zeitgeist,” says Evolution Quartet band leader Cheryl Ann Spencer.
Pandemic Blues
Who knew life could ever be like that? People used to take the beautiful life for granted until the pandemic struck. COVID-19 made people fearful and cautious – social distancing became a modus operandi for people. Pandemic Blues is truly an expression of that frustration of not being able to socialize liberally as people are suffocated literally and figuratively by it.
Social Distancing
The gypsy-inflected tune starts slow but quickly picks up pace with rapid movement of the fingers as though it is tracing the footsteps of the omnipresent social distancing ambassador. Stay one meter apart or forever be damned.
Zingaro
Cheryl was first introduced to Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Zingaro by her cousin a few years ago. This modern bossa tune is a jazz standard which she has come to love over time for its pensive and contemplative quality. She decided to reharmonize it to give it new life, a nod to the fact that she and her cousin have been tightly knit since they were five years old and have similar taste in music.
Our Journey
Cheryl and her husband celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary this year, so it is timely that they celebrate this marital milestone with this ballad. Her husband has been and still is very much a supportive soulmate and she is thankful to have been able to build their lives together with him. She has a lot to say but what better way to express it than through the gift of a song? Trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, tenor saxophonist Shawn Letts and Cheryl on piano have their solo improvisation moment in the song.
Fly With The Wind
This jazz standard by Cheryl’s hero McCoy Tyner is a difficult piece to play but she digs the energy, finding it extremely exciting as it builds up from cello play and then, in quick succession, the rest of the band falls into place. Cheryl’s good friend and cellist Judy Tsai proves that the cello sound, while hard to improvise, can work well in jazz too.
Godfather
The Spencer family connected over movie nights as they poured over classics such as Rocky, Three Amigos and The Godfather. The story of the Corleone family and its youngest son taking over the helm of the mafia empire left quite an impression, so it was fitting for a tune from the movie to be included in the album. Cheryl’s son Charles Jim Spencer on clarinet stars in this tune, too.
Hope
As an aural journey reflecting the zeitgeist, this album, Pandemic Blues, has gone from expressing concern and frustration in the beginning to having a great sense of hope about the future. It has a decidedly positive undertone; the rich harmony reflects a pensive state as one reflects on the past two years and Singapore moving from pandemic to an endemic state.
Moving On
Written with the drummer in mind, Moving On is a positive and resoundingly energetic tune that keeps everyone in high spirits. Taking a leaf from latin jazz, this piece of work is modern and a window into the world of Latino percussion music.
EVOLUTION QUARTET’S BAND MEMBERS
Evolution Quartet is made up of four members who are deeply passionate about and committed to their craft. Band leader Cheryl is armed with a second degree in Jazz Music at the LaSalle College of Arts. She is currently pursuing classical composition and piano pedagogy at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore. Drummer Tamagoh is a veteran in the scene having performed with Jeremy Monteiro as early as 1989 and counts Terumasa Hino, Carmen Bradford and Eldee Young as musicians he has had the pleasure of playing with since 1994. Flutist, composer, educator and recording artist, Rit Xu, a leading light of his generation, is best known for having been awarded Best Jazz Artist at the National Flute Association competition – the first Southeast Asian to win a solo jazz competition in the United States. Jazz bassist Fabian Lee, who plays the double bass and electric bass, completes the sound of Evolution Quartet.
The album Pandemic Blue is now available on Spotify and Apple Music. A portion of proceeds from limited edition CDs will go to the Autism Association (Singapore), enabling them to support and serve individuals on the autism spectrum to maximize their potential, helping them lead meaningful and quality lives in society.
Spotify Click Here
Apple Music Click Here
ABOUT EVOLUTION QUARTET
Evolution Quartet is a homegrown jazz band formed by the love of jazz and the wish to spread the love for it through performance and jazz education. Led by band leader and jazz pianist Cheryl Ann Spencer, the quartet consists of three other members: drummer Tamagoh; flutist, composer, educator and recording artist, Rit Xu; and jazz bassist Fabian Lee. The band debuted its album Reflections in late 2020, with contribution from celebrated and prominent New York- based trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, offering a taste of life in all sorts of high notes ranging from an ode to the jazz scene and love for papa to shoe-shopping and magical carpet rides.
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